


(mar)TEA(ni) For TWO

by AtoTheBean



Series: Ato's 007 Fest Fan Creations [15]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies)
Genre: Alcohol, Experimentation, Food Day, M/M, Unbetaed we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 757
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25028059
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AtoTheBean/pseuds/AtoTheBean
Summary: Bond comes home to find Q in the thick of... well, he's not sure actually... at the home bar.(a modest sequel to Nine Kinds of Liquor)
Relationships: James Bond/Q
Series: Ato's 007 Fest Fan Creations [15]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1061039
Comments: 38
Kudos: 125
Collections: 007 Fest Fancreations





	(mar)TEA(ni) For TWO

**Author's Note:**

> I have a few ideas for moments in this 'verse... Nothing with a plot, per se, but moments...

“What’s all this?” James asks, approaching the bar in Q’s sitting room after removing his coat and shoes by the door.

“Hmm? Oh. Experiment,” Q answers, scribbling notes on a cocktail napkin.

“So I see. With test tubes and everything. And for whom are you concocting?” James asks, taking a seat at the bar and surveying at the frankly horrid disarray of ingredients, dirtied barware, and half-drunk cocktails.

Q raises an eyebrow and gives James a sly look. “Jealous?”

“Should I be?”

Q just snorts. “You’re adorable.”

“I am _not_ adorable,” Bond insists with an amused huff. “I’ll have you know, I’m a very dangerous assassin.”

“Yes, you are. And you put the ass in assassin. A very lovely ass, at that.”

“You are _sloshed_ ,” James laughs.

“M’not,” Q protests. “A bit... pissed, perhaps. But it’s nearly perfect.”

“What’s nearly perfect?”

“Hold on and I’ll show you.”

Q cleans out a shaker and fills it with ice. He adds juice from a lemon, half a jigger of homemade syrup from a small saucepan, the entire contents of one of the test tubes, and an eggwhite. He puts two clean coup glasses in front of James and starts shaking.

People who don’t know him personally wouldn’t expect this of Q. He’s _strong_. Lithe. Flexible. But definitely not the stereotypical weak boffin. His arm muscles flex beneath his tee and he works the shaker vigorously. James has long since gotten used to seeing his boffin in pajamas at the bar, but something about it still makes him grin. It’s their odd brand of domesticity.

Q pours the cocktail, straining it through the mesh at the top of the shaker. It’s frothy, but separates quickly, leaving a dark cocktail with a lovely foam at the top. Q adds a garnish of lemon zest and hands one of the glasses to James.

“What shall we drink to?” James asks.

“Hmm. Well, we could drink to the fact that you brought back all your equipment after your last mission,” Q suggests.

“You already rewarded me for that,” James answers with a grin.

“So I did,” Q says, smirking enough that his dimple shows. “We could drink to the fact that we both have the next two days off.”

“That seems promising.”

“Or we could drink to the fact that as of tomorrow, we’ve been dating for six months.”

“Have we really? Time flies when you’re having fun. You know, that’s a record for me.”

Q looks as though he’s aware. “Scared?”

James considers for a moment. “Not in the least.”

“Well then, let’s drink to not being afraid.”

They raise their glasses, and James takes a sip.

“Is that _tea_ I taste?”

Q nods excitedly. “Eve asked me yesterday if I’d ever tried infusing tea in vodka, and I couldn’t _believe_ I’d never thought of it. And there are some old recipes, but they’re really sweet. I don’t take sugar in my tea. It needs a bit, but it can overpower the flavor of the tea. Same with the lemon. So I had to scale that back. And I played with flavoring the syrup.” Q takes another sip, sighing happily at the current version.

“And the test tubes?”

Q points to each in turn. “Earl Grey, English Breakfast, Rose, and Chai. Each really requires a slightly different syrup to really bring out the flavors.”

“So you’ve made up four tea-inspired cocktails tonight. No wonder you’re sloshed.”

“I’ve made four variations on a Vodka Mar—”

“Don’t. Don’t do it Q—”

“—TEAni”

“I can’t believe you just said that. You make the _worst_ jokes,” James complains with another laugh.

“You’re in no position to complain,” Q says.

James takes another sip, shaking his head. It is quite delicious. “You never answered my question.”

“About?”

“Whom you’re concocting for.”

“Whom do you think?”

James considers that for a moment, enjoying the light in Q’s eyes. “It has an egg and your morning cuppa… it’s basically your preferred breakfast.”

Q snorts. “Not everyone likes vodka for breakfast.”

“Brunch, then. Brunch in a glass. A new weekend tradition.”

Q grins and takes a sip. “We could put everything on a tray and have brunch in bed.”

James gets up and starts turning out the lights.

“What are you doing? I need to wash up.”

“I’ll clean the kitchen in the morning,” James says, taking Q by the hand and leading him down the hall by the dim light of the streetlamps filtering in through the windows. “I want brunch in bed for dinner, and you for dessert.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
